Latest News:

10/7/2010

I've created a website for one of my bands, the Aperitif Jazz ensemble. We specialise in playing mainstream jazz for weddings, corporate events and other functions. Background music is one of our strong points; this kind of music sounds great when played acoustically!

07/7/2010

I've been in the studio with Horse recording the 2010 version of her excellent song "Careful", which is sounding great and respects the integrity of the original recording. After trying out virtually all of my instruments we settled on the Peavey 6 string bass guitar as having the most complimentary sound. Because of this, I used "the brown bass", as Bob Sadler named it, on a couple of tunes on subsequent Horse concerts.

Speaking of which, we finished the Horse 2010 tour with a couple of gigs in England, one of which was in the amazing Milton Keynes stables. A great venue with a great audience, and one I hope to return to soon.

On a different note entirely, I received a last minute call to organise a band to play for a tea dance. There was less than 24 hours to get this together, but it was done and both band and dancers had a great time. You should have seen the melee for the half time cakes though... unbelievable!

06/6/2010

I am happy to report that many good musical things have happened since my last website update.

It was magic to return to the Adam Smith Theatre for the rescheduled Horse gig. The gig was rescheduled due to illness, but we returned with a bang and played a great show!

I performed as part of the string section for Itchycoo Park on one of their theatre gigs. Itchycoo park subsequently asked me to write string arrangements for their concerts at the "Abbey Road on The River" festival in the US for "Blackberry Way" by "The Move" and "America" by Simon & Garfunkel. A couple of great songs, and a joy to arrange.

Classically speaking, my favourite recently played piece would have to be Schubert's "Tragic" Symphony No.4 in C minor, played with the Glasgow Sinfonia. The bass part is mostly the same as the cello, and is a precise workout, but not completely impossible, therefore very satisfying.

My function band played recently at a wedding where we went down a storm - the guests were literally dancing all night. This was very gratifying as we have been working hard to expand the repertoire with some new arrangements, all of which were well received.

18/2/2010

I've been working with Frank Holden to put together a great new project, "Frank Holden's Cool Lounge Music", a vocal, piano and double bass trio. This extremely cool and very, very laid back ensemble provides a unique and five-star presentation for business and product launches, private dinner parties, cocktail parties, etc. Presentation and attention to detail are second to none and tuxedo is the order of the day. This exciting trio adds class to any event.

08/2/2010

A preview of the new Horse DVD "Live at the Queens Hall" can be seen here. You can order a copy of this DVD from the Horse website here.

25/1/2010

I'm happy to report that the Horse concert in the City Hall, Glasgow, was a great success. We were accompanied by the Glasgow Gospel Truth Choir and a string quartet, a total of seventeen musicians, playing to a packed house of around 900. What a sound, what a show!

Horse 2010 tour dates announced;

Scottish Festival Strings at Art De Caf, Brunswick Street, Glasgow, 1/11/2009, 7.30pm

The Scottish Festival strings will be playing pieces from their own repertoire, as well as music from various guest artists. I've written some arrangements for this event, and will also be playing double bass and bass guitar.
 

Horse on STV's "The Hour", 05/10/2009, 5pm

Scottish Television programme featuring an interview with Horse, then we'll be playing the programme out with one of her tunes.
Update: the song we played, "Heaven Can Wait", can be viewed on the STV website by clicking here.
 

Horse October tour dates announced;

Rent at the Arts Guild Theatre, Greenock;

10th, 11th, 12th of September, doors 6.30-7.30pm. By No Nonsense productions, run by Mark MacDonald, sure to be something to see and hear. The band are onstage! Yeay!
 

Horse June tour dates announced;

17/5/2009: Summer Concert with Glasgow Sinfonia

Concert with Strathclyde University Symphony Orchestra

Wednesday 29 April at 8.00pm in the Barony Hall, Glasgow.

15/3/2009: Concert with Glasgow Sinfonia

7:30pm @ Sherbrooke St. Gilbert Church, Pollokshields, Glasgow.

9/1/2009: I had the pleasure of playing double bass and bass guitar on the the new Horse album, "Coming Up For Air", which is now available from the official Horse website here. In my opinion it is an excellent piece of work, and I highly recommend that you buy a copy immediately - and no, I am not biased! To hear some songs from this album please visit the Horse myspace site.